| name | apple-container |
| description | Run isolated Linux containers on macOS Apple Silicon via Apple's native `container` CLI. Use when the agent needs a sandboxed shell, an untrusted script runner, or a non-host runtime (Python, Node, etc.) without Docker. |
Apple Container (Minimal)
Apple's container CLI runs each Linux container in a lightweight VM using the
Containerization framework. No daemon, no Docker Desktop. Apple Silicon + macOS
15+ required (macOS 26+ for full networking).
This skill covers only what run_in_container depends on. For the full CLI
reference, see Apple's docs or the upstream apple-container-skill repo.
Install
brew install --cask container
Verify:
container --version
container system start
container system status
The one command you actually need
container run --rm [--network none] [-v <host>:<container>[:ro]] [-w <workdir>] <image> sh -lc "<command>"
Flags used by run_in_container:
| Flag | Meaning |
|---|
--rm | Delete the container after exit (always on in the tool) |
--network none | No network egress from the container (default; safest) |
--network bridge | Enable egress (opt-in) |
-v host:container[:ro] | Bind-mount (host side confined to --cwd via safePath) |
-w /path | Set working directory inside the container |
Example the agent can run directly:
container run --rm --network none -v $(pwd)/data:/data:ro python:3.12-slim \
sh -lc "python /data/script.py"
Picking an image
| Use case | Image |
|---|
| Generic shell | alpine:3.20 (tiny, ~5 MB) |
| Python | python:3.12-slim |
| Node | node:22-alpine |
| No-network linting / parsing | any of the above with --network none |
Pull once to warm the cache:
container image pull python:3.12-slim
Troubleshooting
container: command not found — install with brew install --cask container.services not running — container system start.--network errors on macOS 15 — user-defined networks require macOS 26+; stick with --network none or omit the flag.- Anonymous volumes (
-v /path, no host side) are NOT cleaned by --rm in container. run_in_container avoids this by always pairing host and container paths.
- Container can't reach the internet — you passed
--network none (default). Pass network: "bridge" in the tool args.
Gotchas
container is NOT a Docker replacement. It supports the Docker-ish subset of flags run_in_container uses; avoid Docker-specific features (--link, --device, etc.).- Default container has 1 GiB RAM and 4 CPUs. Override with
--memory / --cpus if needed (the tool does not surface these; edit the agent if you need it).
- All mounts go through the host → lightweight VM → container, which adds a sync step on first access. Small files are fine; gigabyte dirs are not.
